Black journalists hit hard by Times-Picayune cuts

New Orleans - The New Orleans Times-Picayune front page reads 'Oil Flow Halted' July 16, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The cap sealing the BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has remained sealed during the 48-hour testing period offering a glimmer of hope in the disaster. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Birmingham News, among other papers owned by Advance Publications, have been forced to make cut-backs. In the wake of these cut-backs, many are noting that African-American employees were disproportionately laid off. The Huffington Post reported:

Black journalists are being hit particularly hard by the recent round of cuts at the New Orleans Times-Picayune and its sister papers in Alabama.

The brutal cuts at the papers, all of which are owned by Advance Publications, sent shudders throughout the media world. The titles will also cease daily publication in the fall.

But African-Americans at the Times-Picayune were disproportionately let go by management, a study by Poynter’s Steve Myers found on Wednesday:

The Times-Picayune reported that 84 of 173 people in the newsroom were laid off, a loss of 48.5 percent. According to a list I assembled (based on conversations with multiple people in the newsroom) 14 of 26 African-Americans in the newsroom lost their jobs — a 53.8 percent cut. That includes editors, reporters and administrative personnel.

New Orleans is a majority-black city.

Click here to read more and the National Association of Black Journalists statement.